My friend has a 99 prelude and he unhooked his battery the other day and now he needs the code for the cd player. I know you can go to the dealership and get it, but you have to pay money. Does anybody know where it may be hidden on the car? Let me know asap, Thanks!

 

The car paperwork includes a card with the code on it. If that is missing-sorry but you WILL visit a dealer to get the code.

 

There should be a zip-loc bag full of all the warranty, info about the car, master ignition (red key), owners manual, and the card with the radio code on it. If he lost it or never had it, sorry, but the dealer is the only place he can go.

 

97 gs...... what I had to do was pull out the radio and get the serial code off the radio, it took about 10 minutes to do this and a call to the dealer, with that serial code the dealer will give me the code to the radio for free so if you guys have time, pull out the black trim panel, then there should be 4 screws which hold the radio in, pull the radio out and get me the serial code and I can call the dealer over here if you want which gives the codes for free with the serial #, let me know....

 

what is that redkey for anyways?

i thought it was just a neatlooking key.. but then i read the back and it scared the #()@$ outta me..

 

You don't know? Good thing you asked. That is the master program key. If you loose any of the other keys (full access black keys or vallet gray key) and you need a new key, you need to bring the red key to your dealer to get the new key programed for your car. DO NOT LOOSE THIS KEY, AND DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRY TO USE IT TO START YOUR CAR!!!!! If you use it, it will dissable your anti-theft system, the car won't start, and you will need to replace the ECM. It is a master program key only, so even if you loose every other key, don't use the red key. You'll know if you've damaged the anti-theft circuit because the green key lamp on your dash that blinks when you shut the car off will just stay on all the time, and obviously the car will not start.

 

ok yall he found the code on the inside of his glovebox. I think it was near or on the hing. I dunno if its like that on all prelude, but if it is thats where it's at. Thanks for the replies though.

 

Hmmm... I'm having this same problem with my Del Sol, battery went dead, now I need the code... I'll try my glovebox also, since I didn't get any paperwork from the previous owner... that son of a -----

 

whoa does all hondas have this "red key"???

 

All new Hondas and Acuras do. Any Honda with the anti-theft immobilizer system have it. You'll know if the car has it when starting or shuting the engine, you'll see a green lamp with the symbol of a key blink on the dash board. On these cars, there is a transponder in the key that contains a matched code to a computer in the car. If the code is missing or doesn't match when someone tries to start the car, it won't start. Car can't be hotwired, or started with a key that was duplicated at your local hardware store. You must order it from Honda through your dealer, and have the red key to program the new key. They cost about 60.00 each for a new one. That red key is for programing only, and will damage your car's immobilizer system if you try to use it to start the car. It contains a master override code that can only be used to program new keys to your car's specific code. That's why the red key is in a sealed box and on the back it clearly states "DO NOT USE THIS KEY". As bad as it might seem, this is worlds better than the key GM uses...... even though they're cheaper and don't need to be programed, it's VERY easy to get a duplicated key for the GM Pass-key system, since it's only a resistor, and not a frequency transponder.